The bout between Steven Butler and Erik Bazinyan will no longer headline the Eye of the Tiger card on November 13 at Cabaret du Casino de Montreal after Bazinyan withdrew with an injury. Butler is now set to face Stephane Fondjo, a late-change matchup that keeps Butler on the November 13 bill.
This is the third time the long-awaited clash between Montreal’s Butler (36-5-1, 30 KOs) and Armenia’s Bazinyan (32-1-1, 23 KOs) has fallen apart, as the pair were previously scheduled to meet in March and then in June. The new contest with Fondjo (14-1-1, 9 KOs), scheduled for 10 rounds at super middleweight, gives the card a fresh local-versus-international angle.
Butler, 30 and a former two-time title challenger, is chasing his third win since being stopped by Patrice Volmy last June. Canada-based 27-year-old Fondjo arrives off a unanimous decision win over Salim Ben Rejeb in February and brings hungry momentum to Montreal. The switch keeps Butler active on a date he’s clearly prepared for.
Watch Butler vs. Alimkhanuly full fight: Watch
“It’s been weeks since I’ve been making sacrifices away from my family to prepare to face Erik Bazinyan,” Butler said. “If he can’t fight, too bad for him – but I never back down, so there was no question I wouldn’t fight on November 13. I don’t back down from anyone, and for once, I’ll have an opponent as hungry as I am. The fans will still get a great local fight, but in the end, I’ll remind everyone – and Fondjo – that I belong at the international level.”
Fondjo answered in kind: “To achieve great things, you sometimes have to suffer. I left my family behind eight years ago to cross the Atlantic and one day offer them a better life. Every day since, I’ve made every sacrifice to achieve that goal. I respect Steven Butler – he has a similar mentality – but I’ve suffered enough to get here and earn this opportunity. Once we’re in the ring on November 13, it’s Butler who will suffer.”
Fight card:
▪️Steven Butler vs. Stephane Fondjo, 10 rounds, super middleweight
▪️Jhon Orobio vs. Xolisani Ndongeni, 10 rounds, for the WBC Continental Americas super lightweight title
▪️Luis Santana vs. Pedro Manuel Gomes, 10 rounds, lightweight
▪️Moreno Fendero vs. William Langston, 10 rounds, super middleweight
▪️Wyatt Sanford vs. Petr Novak, 6 rounds, super lightweight
▪️Daylen Pepin vs. Alexendre Giraldeau Perron, 4 rounds, super lightweight
▪️Erik Israyelyan vs. Mario Esparza, 4 rounds, super featherweight
